Sunday, May 16, 2010

Another day, another brownie

Hi,Remember me?Probably not, but I'll continue to talk anyways.

I work at a cafe (not surprising to hear from a uni student's mouth). I make coffee for grumpy middle aged men and women (and also nice, friendly people but they are much harder to come by). I "assemble" sandwiches. I clean...a lot. And I also screw up customer's scrambled eggs because we all know everyone has their own preference for their googies yet contine to order these while out, only to be sourly disappointed and wish they'd stayed at home and made it themselves. Now I could lie and say I solely do this job for the money...but to be honest I do it for the brownies.

I am constantly on the lookout for the God of all brownie recipes - the one recipe that epitomises what brownies should be - gooey, melt in your mouthingly and intensely chocolately...WITHOUT walnuts. Although I love walnuts, which seem to feature heavily in most brownie recipes, but let's not kid ourselves here into trying to make a ridiculously indulgent piece of artwork somewhat healthy.

I've been searching for brownie utopia for multiple years. And I can happily now declare I have reached my final destination after awkwardly questioning (some would say interrogating) the brownie delivery lady each week as she drops off the warm gooey packages of goodness to my work. I don't know whether it is the gluten free flour used or the dark cocoa added or even the use of brown sugar instead of white, but oh my these brownies are the best things I've ever tasted. Embarrassingly I tell this to every customer considering the cake display fridge. If they foolishly opt for the coconut raspberry muffins instead I sink a little inside - one less person in the world is going to experience the brownie euphoria brought on by this amazing 5cm squared baked delight...

Melt butter and chocolate with the sugar in a heatproof dish (I do this over hot water) until all is melted and the sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat to cool slightly.

Add eggs and vanilla to the mixture and stir well. Sift in the flour, cocoa and salt. Stir to combine.

Pour into a well buttered or lined brownie cake pan and bake for 20 minutes.

Let it cool in the pan first, then lift out and wrap in plastic and leave in fridge overnight (I know it's hard but refrain from tearing into it straight away - it will be too soft and crumbly to eat until set in fridge).

I just read this and it made me laugh so much!!! Richard and Tracey probably lost so much money on those brownies being eaten by staff not costumers. I will definitely try this recipe to reminisce about those days!x